Machine for making skived blanks.



L. L. HARTWELL.

APPLICATION IILED NOV. 4, 1909.

Patented Sept.20, 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Rs sa.. wAsunvcraN. n. cv

L. L. HAR'IWELL. MACHINE FOB. MAKING SKIVED BLANKS.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

APPLICATION FILED NGV. 4, 1909.

Patented Sept. 20, 1910.

NVE/#TUR leslie LHarweZZ 4 LU Wl TNEESEE- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LESLIE L. HARTWELL, OF CHELSEA, vMASSACI-IUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO ARTHUR G. WALTON, OF WAKEFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

MACHINE FOR MAKING SKIVED BLANKS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 4, 1909.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, LESLIE L. HARTWELL, of Chelsea, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Making Skived Blanks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to machines for making skived blanks suitable for heel counters, taps, and so forth, and has particular reference to machines adapted to sever the blank longitudinally into two parts, the severing cut being inclined relatively to the surfaces of the sheet or blank so that each part which constitutes a complete blank has a skived longitudinal edge formed by the cutter which severs the blank.

A machine of this character which is capable of operating on stock of different thickness without materially varying the width of the skived edges, forms the subject-matter of my application 512,518, filed August 12, 1909.

Inasmuch as diiliculty is often experienced in the skiving of leather due to the fact that leather is not always evenly tempered or hardened, or owing to the fact that the grain of the leather is not always dependable, the object of my present invention is to provide, means for clamping the Work on both sides of the line of cut, said means preferably consisting of a yieldingly actuated presser Which bears upon the material in approximately the plane where the knife leaves the work.

To these ends the invention consists in the construction and combination of arts substantially as hereinafter descrlbed and claimed.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specicationz--Figure 1 is a front elevation of a machine embodying my present invention. Fig. 2 represents a section on line 2, 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents a rear elevation of a portion of the machine shown in Fig. 1. Figs. 4 and 5 are detailed sections similar to Fig. 2 but on a larger scale, to illustrate the movable parts in some of their different positions.

Similar reference characters indicate the same or similar parts in all of the views.

I will first briefly describe the structure illustrated, so far as it is the same as in my application 512,518 above-mentioned, using the same numerals of reference herein as in said former application.

The platform 10 supported by legs 11 has two standards 12 provided with horizontal Ways for the bar 13 to which the knife 14 1s secured as b bolts 15. A cross-bar 16 has a bed mem er 17 bolted to it, and the knife 14 works against the front flat face of the member 17, slots 18 co-acting with rolls 19 directing the movements of the knife so that it will operate with a shear cut. The knife-bar 13 is operated by a link 20 connected to it at 21 and also connected to a crank 22 carried by a shaft 23 su-pported by a bracket 24, said shaft having a belt-wheel 26, suitable clutch connections (not shown) being controlled by means of a link 28 which may lead to a foot treadle (not shown).

A beveled pinion 30 on shaft 23 meshes with a beveled pinion 3l carried by a shaft 32 on which is secured a cam 33 (see Fig. 3) engaging a roll 34 carried by a yoke 35, said yoke having an extension 37 which is recipe rocated by means of the cam. The movable bed member 38 is provided with arms 39 supported by curved ways 40 in bearing blocks 41 which are adjustably secured in position by means of adjusting screws 42 and screws or bolts 43. An arm 44 of the movable member 38 is pivotally connected with a block 45 mounted on the rod 37 between the collar 46 and the upper end of a spring 47, the latter being supported by nuts 48 on the lower end of the rod 37.

A yieldingly supported plug 49 mounted in a recess in the acting face of the movable bed member engages the work and reduces liability of slipping when the Work is clamped as shown in Fig. 5, this grasping or clamping of the work being above the line of cut of the knife.

The parts so far described are the same as in my application aforesaid, the machine being used as follows: When the movable l bed member 38 is in the position shown in Figs. 2 and 4, the work or blank is held by the pressure of the lug or plugs 49 engaging one face of the lank and clamping it against the rear face of the fixed bed member 17 near the lower edge of the latter. The lower portion of the member 38 is cut away, so as to present a ridge or shoulder at y. This ridge is so located relatively to the bearings which permit the member 38 to oscillate, that the position of said shoulder y never varies; said shoulder is also in line with the edge of the knife 14, and the throw of the knife 14 is such that its edge, when in its lowest position only reaches or just passes the shoulder y.

To enable the machine constructed as so far described, to act upon leather which may not have been evenly tempered or hardened and which therefore might be pushed out by the knife during its operation so as to cut the leather at a different angle than intended, I provide means for firmly holding the blanks during the skiving operation, the presser employed being preferably automatically released when the work is to be inserted or removed. Y

I will now proceed to describe the present improvements, using reference letters instead of reference numerals, the letters being applied in connection with the members which belong to the said present improvement.

An oscillating bar or presser-foot ct is mounted to engage what I will refer to as the face of the work w, t-he back of the work being engaged by the plug or plugs 49. This engagement of the face of the work is preferably at a point corresponding to that which defines the lower limit of movement of the knife, and preferably at or slightly above the ridge or shoulder y, as above illustrated in Fig. 5. Said presser-foot or bar is hung from and secured to a rockshaft b (Fig. l?, said rockshaft being mounted in sultab e bearings c formed in blocks attached to the blocks 41. Said rockshaft is provided with an arm d which extends forward and is connected by a link e with an arm f projecting laterally from a rockshaft g mounted in suitable bearings z, on the platform l0. At the rear end, said shaft g is provided with an arm z' (Fig. 3) which is actuated in the manner and by. the means presently described, to oscillate the rockshaft y g and through the connections described, oscillate the presser or clamp a which engages the front of the work.

An angle arm 7c, (see Fig. 3) is pivotally connected at one end Z to a fixed bracket attached to the cross-bar 16. The other end of the angle arm is pivotally connected at m, to the upper end of a vertical rod n, the lower portion of which is reduced in diameter to form a shoulder n. The lower end of the rod n passes through an opening in the outer end of the arm z' (Fig. 3), nuts 0 being secured upon the rod below said arms. A spring p is coiled about the lower end of the rod n and confined between the shoulder n thereof and a washer n2 which latter bears on the arm c'. At the angle of the arm k is mounted a roll g which is engaged by a cam r on the shaft 32, so that as said shaft 32 rotates, the cam 1 will depress the angle arm and the rod n and act through the spring p and the connections hereinbefore described, to yieldingly press the clamp a against the work.

In order that the parts will remain under control of the cam r, I preferably utilize a spring s connecting the arm z' with a hanger t which is loosely mounted on the shaft 32. Or the upper end of said spring may be connected to any suitable liXed support. The object of this spring s is not only to cause the rod n to follow the movements controlled by the cam r, but to cause the presser or clamp a to recede from the face of the work when permitted to do so by said cam.

The connections, and the relative timing of the operation of the parts, are such that when the movable bed-member 38 is swung backward to the position such as indicated in Fig. 4, the cam r will permit the presser a to release the work so that it can drop out and a new piece of work be inserted. Then as the bed-member ret-urns to the position shown in Fig. 5 so as to clamp the work above the line of cut, the presser a will move forward and clamp the work against the ridge or shoulder y, the engagement being at a point below the line of cut. This pressing engagement or clamping action holds the work or blank rmly so that even if the leather has not been evenly tempered or hardened, or is rather soft, it will be held firmly so that the knife 14 will produce an accurate severance of the blank at just the prescribed angle or inclination.

Sometimes it may be desirable that the rear surface of the blank shall be supported at a point below the tip of the knife when the latter is in its lowermost position. For this purpose I may employ a block w suitably attached to the face of the member 38 below the ridge or shoulder y, the upper outer corner of said block w being prefer* ably in the same plane with the face of the member 3S above the ridge or shoulder y, so as to support the blank at the rear below the line of severance, and yet permit the edge of the knife to pass completely through the work without contact with said support.

It will now be understood that I have provided in a machine which comprises a. cutter bar and a work supporting member, one of which is variable in its ,angle relatively to the other, vvorlcclampingdevices at both sidesof the line of cut, both clamping means also being automatically opened to permit the severed work to drop out, and

Having now described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A machine of the character described, comprising a work-supporting member, a cutter for severing the Work at an acute angle relatively to said supporting member, and means for clamping the work on both sides of the line of cut.

2. A machine of the character described, comprising a Work-supporting member, a cutter for severing the work at an acute angle relatively to said supporting member, means for clamping the work on both sides of the line of cut, and means for automatically releasing the entire clamping action after the cutter' has performed its work.

3. A machine of the character described comprising a work-supporting member, a cutter for severing the work at an acute angle relatively to said supporting member, a support for one faceof the work, below the edge of the cutter at its extreme of movement, and means for clamping the work on both sides of the line of cut.

4. A machine of the character described comprising a work-supporting member, a cutter for severing the work at an acute angle relatively to said supporting member, a presser-foot or bar automatically movable toward and from the work at a point approximately in the plane of' the lower limit of movement of the cutter, and means for actuating said presser.

5. In a blank making machine, a cutter member and a work-supporting member, one of said members being automatically variable in its angle relatively to the other member according to the thickness of the work, and a presser-foot or bar movable toward and from the Work to clamp it at approximately the point Where the cutter leaves the work.

(5. A blank making machine comprising a reciprocating cutter, a fixed bed-member, a Swingin bed-member movable toward and from the 'xed member to clamp one portion of the work, and a clamp movable toward the work from the opposite direction to clamp another portion of the work.

7. A blank making machine comprising a reciprocating cutter, a fixed bed-member, a swinging bed-member movable toward and from the fixed member, an oscillating presser mounted on the opposite side of the cutter from said fixed bed-member, and means for yieldingly actuating said oscillating member. l

8. A blank making machine comprising a reciprocating cutter, a fixed bed-member, a swinging bed-member movable toward and from the fixed member, an oscillating presser mounted on the opposite side of the cutter from said fixed bed-member, and means for yieldingly actuating said oscillating member, said means comprising an arm which is rigid relatively to the oscillating member, a rockshaft, a link connecting said rockshaft and arm, a cam, and connections for yieldingly actuating said rockshaft.

In testimony whereof I have afiixed my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

LESLIE L. HARTWELL.

Vitnesses:

ALBERT D. Gnovnn, P. IV. Pnzzn'rr. 

